Destiny: Rise of Iron Review – Wolf of War Street

Destiny: Rise of Iron isn’t a revolution in terms of ideas and features that rewrite the game with last year’s The Taken King expansion. Nor is it a massive evolution that further sets the stage for the future of the franchise. But as an extra slice of a game that has come a long way over the last two years to become something utterly fantastic over that continued cycle of development through DLC?

It’s an utterly superb and nostalgic offering that pays tribute to what makes Destiny the kind of game that has earned a vast and loyal following of hungry fans.

But first up, let’s address the Devil Splicer Walker in the room: This ain’t no Taken King expansion. Bungie has been clear over the last couple of months that Rise of Iron isn’t the meatiest of expansions. It’s got a slightly cheaper price point to reflect that, and a campaign that is laughably short even by Destiny standards as Lord Saladin’s grand quest can easily be finished within two hours.

Any other game would be taken to task for that, but the beauty of Destiny has always been that each level is structured to be replayed several times, whether it be on daily heroic missions or to scout for hidden treasure. And yes, Rise of Iron does reuse assets to deliver a foe in the form of SIVA-enhanced Fallen that aren’t exactly too different from their regular or Taken counterparts.

Hell, the new Plaguelands zone is half new and half familiar as well. And you know what? It’s still some of the most fun I’ve had this year, even if Rise of Iron plays it safe by sticking to ideas that were previously introduced in Destiny. Where Rise of Iron succeeds, is in the fact that it wants you to finally feel like the legend that Destiny promised you’d become back in 2014.